Page 80 of 10 Rings I Hate About You
“Thomas is enjoying himself,” Martha answered, winking at the picture frame.
“I’m fine,” my dad said with a chuckle that was slightly muffled.
I did a double-take when I glanced his way. He was folded forward, and now had Chaos standing on his lower back with all four hooves planted, surveying the room from his elevatedposition with the composure of a gargoyle who’d found a suitable perch.
“Dad, let me help.” I stood.
“Leave him be. It’s actually a decent stretch.”
I stared at him, not sure if I should intervene anyway.
“Okay everyone. Savasana. Our final relaxation pose.”
I paused.
“Is that safe?” Adam asked from the floor, voicing my same objection.
I did a slow perusal of the room. “Probably not,” I answered honestly.
Everyone lay down anyway.
Gladys was pinned by Biscuit. Wyatt appeared to be negotiating lung capacity with another dog, who had made a permanent resting space decision about his chest. One cat walked the full length across Ellie’s back, like it was a ridge line, pausing at her hip to assess the view.
“Stormy is going to have a lot of feelings about this little kitty leaving behind some fur,” she giggled as she referenced the grumpy cat she’d rescued from the shelter last November.
Martha lifted her granola bar toward the other cat while Thomas observed. Before I could protest, a shelter volunteer scooped up the offending snack and tossed it out, avoiding Martha’s glare as she scurried away.
I lay down knowing that if something happened, I likely couldn’t have stopped it anyway.
Chaos stepped onto my chest, decidedly done with Dad. “What, he wasn’t still enough for you?” I taunted the little beast.
He circled, similar to a cat finding a spot in the sun, then lay down, digging his hooves into my sternum with pinpoint precision, and knowing him, it was intentional. Then he looked at me once with those unblinking demon eyes and sighed—big and loud and completely untroubled—and lowered his lids.
I stared at the ceiling.
Soft music moved through the room. The bright glow of the sun muted into paler shades as it moved across the sky. Through it all, the gentle sound of Delaney’s voice walking everyone through the final deep breathwork was hypnotic. She was steady, unhurried, and completely unbothered that our practice session had been a disaster from the start.
I ran a hand along Chaos’s spine, eventually letting my fingers dig into the scruff of his neck.
He huffed out a contented sigh, and my hand froze.
“This is not sustainable," I said quietly, to the ceiling, not expecting an answer.
Delaney’s laugh came from nearby.
“No,” she agreed, crouching down close enough that I could’ve seen the light dusting of freckles across her cheeks if I turned to look. I didn’t though. “But it is what it is.”
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. Now even her voice was creating conflicting feelings within me.
“Okay,” Delaney said, rising and addressing the room once again. “Let’s sit up slowly. Take a breath. And whenever you’re ready, come back to the present. Feel the weight of your body on the mat, hear the music filling the room.”
My hand stilled on the goat. I hated to break our first serene moment, but I needed to get up. I shifted him onto my lap as I sat up with my legs extended in front of me.
He grunted his displeasure, but thankfully didn’t move.
“What notes does everyone have?” Delaney asked, voicing my thoughts.
Grace clapped. “Ten out of ten. No notes.”
